Germany in 2015 is a nation full of self-righteousness. The Greek crisis has produced in the country an unpleasant strain of chauvinism vis-à-vis other nations, rooted in the belief in our own exemplarity: We work harder. We're more successful. We're more frugal.

Now that a cycle has run its course and it feels like a whole century has passed since the Sunday of the referendum, I dare ask the sacrilegious question: What would have possibly happened had we voted "YES"?

True statesmanship is finding the courage and having the intelligence to be wise without experiencing tragedy -- to see the big picture, to acknowledge the right of the other side, to craft space for compromise. Can Eurozone leaders live up to that challenge?

Regardless of political affiliations, the Greek people have now formally registered their protest. At the same time, they accept the Greek government's commitment of defending the integrity of their country as a full member of the eurozone.

While Americans celebrated a long-ago victory against British colonial overlords, the small but proud nation of Greece stood up to reject the failed austerity economics proscribed by European bureaucrats that has driven the country into a debt-driven dependency and depression.